


Auguries, Captains, and Crowns

by Darkstarling



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: F/F, Po is not actually here...yet, Tilly Gets All The Space Girls, with friends like these
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 07:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18006401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkstarling/pseuds/Darkstarling
Summary: Tilly doesn't care what Michael says. Her success in command training will be the result of hard work and determination. It isn't a matter of destiny. Certainly not because of cute princesses.Besides, what they say about Starfleet Captains is completely exaggerated.





	Auguries, Captains, and Crowns

“No. Just no. Shut up.” Tilly’s face was flushed to match her hair, and she couldn’t tell how much was from annoyance and how much was from mortification. She loved Burnham, she was her best friend. So why did she have to be stuck with her for a roommate again? It made running away so much more difficult.

“I’m just stating the facts, Tilly. You have to look at this logically.” Burnham had that smug tone on, the one Tilly had learned to recognize as her pretending to not have a sense of humor. It always came out when someone was really in for it. Usually her.

“Yeah, no. You’re just crazy. You know, I think we need to do some tests. Stamets obviously isn’t the only one with a link to Evil World in their brain.”

Michael crossed the room and put her arm around her comfortingly, but the effect was ruined by the clearly sarcastic look on her face. Well, clear if you knew her anyway. And Tilly did.

“I know this is a big responsibility to handle, and it’s coming on early. But this is good news. We both know how much you want to be a Starship Captain someday, and the fact that this happened so soon just demonstrates your amazing potential.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Princess Po is not my girlfriend!”

Tilly would have blushed more at her outburst, were that possible. Worse, Burnham didn’t bat an eye at the profanity. She really had been making an effort to swear less, since she’d been told it wasn’t considered proper for officers. Even if she was pretty sure Linus had been joking when he said that expressions like ‘Holy Zarquon’s Singing Fish’ were the trend now.

Without changing her expression, Michael slowly and deliberately raised a single eyebrow. Fucking Vulcan upbringing.

“Well if that’s true then it should follow logically from the course of events. First, Po was in fact the Princess of Xahea?”

Tilly reluctantly nodded. She had done quite a bit of research into Xahea and its history after the encounter. Particularly it’s odd geologic history, which was surprisingly fascinating for something so far out of her field. Their monarchy was traditionally intensely politically active and, yes, okay, there had been a bunch of very flattering pictures of Po.

“You shared dessert. Talked about your pasts and your difficulties. Bonded over a shared talent in engineering.”

“Well sure when you say it like that…”

“Discovered that she had secret and mysterious powers.”

“They weren’t that mysterious,” Tilly muttered. “It was just an improvised EM disruptor and thermo-optic camouflage, it wouldn’t have fooled a tricorder or anything.”

“Alright, I concede the space magic.” 

Only Burnham, Tilly thought, could say the phrase ‘space magic’ with a straight face. 

“But I don’t concede the dessert or the bonding. Especially since, within hours of meeting her, you gave her the confidence she needed to return home and ascend to the throne.”

“I didn’t even know she was the Princess! We were just talking.” 

Talking and getting along like a house on fire, which was an appropriate metaphor on a number of levels staring with heat, and yes they’d kept in touch afterwards, but Michael didn’t need to know that. She stood up. Maybe taking the offensive would help.

“You know, Michael, this is all just ridiculous. And it’s really old fashioned to assume that all sudden emotional connections are romantic. I mean, if you look at it that way, you could probably say that you and I are a couple.” 

She had meant that as a joke but it fell flat. That...probably wasn’t safe territory to touch actually. Nice going Tilly, she thought. Retreat! Retreat!

“I mean,” she continued quickly, “we may have bonded quickly, and I like her a lot. But that doesn’t mean that I have an alien Princess for a girlfriend. And even if it did, what everyone says about Starfleet Captains is just a silly stereotype. What brings us together is personal, it wouldn’t have mattered who we are or what we’re doing with our lives. That’s even why we could meet like we did. She said it herself, when people find out she’s the Princess they stop caring about her. But we avoided that, and I’m glad. We’re good friends.”

To her surprise, it actually seemed to have worked. Michael nodded and stood up, a serious expression on her face. Which was convenient, because being the only one standing was awkward.

“You’re right, of course. All of the evidence I cited might have been suggestive, but was not sufficient by itself. And, since I wanted you to have a partner you are happy with, I let my biases affect my conclusions. I shouldn’t have presumed.”

“Well...good. Thanks. Nice talk.” Tilly sat down on her bunk again, watching Burnham suspiciously. That was way too easy. Not to mention that she was joking in the first place.

Unless...no, no way. She hadn’t.

“On the other hand, the time I was locked out of the shower at 16:30 is another matter. Apparently part of your definition of a good friend involves tearing each others clothes off and moaning. I can’t help but feel I’ve been missing out.”

Tilly groaned, flung herself back on her bunk, and buried her face in the pillow. From outside her fortress of solitude she heard a rare snort from Burnham that might almost have been human laughter.

“She did give you a dilithium crystal when she left, after telling you how spiritually close they are to their planet. Are you sure you aren’t engaged?”

Her pillow smacked Michael directly in the face. 


End file.
